Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Is Unapologetically Bringing Puerto Rico To The Halls Of Congress

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, lovingly nicknamed ‘AOC’ has already terrified the GOP to the point of scrutinizing her every move, clothing choice, and even a goofy dance video. AOC never goes on the defense. Our favorite Congresswoman has been on the offense to get legislation passed that will protect us and generations to come from climate deniers, wall builders and more.

Her Latinidad is one of her greatest strengths and feeds into this force of nature that just won’t quit. All the while, she seems to be having fun with it.

She won’t be told how to dress, try as they might. She’s keeping it real for us in every single way. She is not one to be told what she can and can’t do because she is speaking for her constituents, not special interests.

The only fashion statement she’s made thus far has been a nod to Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

CREDIT: @thehill / Twitter

In her own Twitter captioned words she says:

“Lip+hoops were inspired by Sonia Sotomayor, who was advised to wear neutral-colored nail polish to her confirmation hearings to avoid scrutiny. She kept her red.

Next time someone tells Bronx girls to take off their hoops, they can just say they’re dressing like a Congresswoman.”

Even during the heights of her victory, she’ll never lose the sobering reality of Puerto Rico’s status.

CREDIT: @AOC / Twitter

That’s right. While those of us on the mainland were able to pull for her with our votes, the entire island of Puerto Rico can never vote in federal elections. It is something that has been mentioned more and more often in recent days and there is energy to fix that.

AOC is bringing the ancestral powers of la Sana Sana into her legislation.

CREDIT: @AOC / Twitter

Well, at least into the location of the office where she’ll be drafting all that legislation. Everyone does a lucky dance or wears a lucky pin, but AOC is repping all of us with the generations-long superstitious suerte canción.

She claps back at Fox News in Spanish just to mess with them.

CREDIT: @AOC / Twitter

After a Twitter user tapped AOC to let her know a four person panel on Fox News was discussing her shoes, she just tweeted out Aventura’s lyrics, “No, no es amor / Lo que tú sientes, se llama obsesión.”

Her shoes were going on display at Cornell along with other items of clothing from women who were successful in politics, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Coretta Scott King.

“We did not come to play.”

CREDIT: @ocasio2018 / Instagram

The overwhelming majority of the freshman class of Democratic Congresspeople are women, LGBTQ, and nonwhite. Ocasio-Cortez has even gone up against veterans in her own party to make the Green New Deal a reality, and force Nancy Pelosi to take climate change much more seriously.

Every time the GOP tries to dehumanize her, she reminds them that she’s not here to play any games.

CREDIT: @AOC / Twitter

Ocasio-Cortez is not letting anyone talk down to her. Instead, she claps back with grace and civility needed in politics today.

She’s here with us and for us with the rallying cry of Cesar Chevaz y Dolores Huerta.

CREDIT: @AOC / Twitter

“Si, se puede” was the rallying call for a wildly successful campaign to unionize migrant farmworkers in the U.S. back in the 1960’s. Today, AOC is using it as the rallying call for all of us who care about the children dying at the border, in detention facilities, and in rampant climate-change fueled fires and floods across the U.S.

AOC brought her mom to her swearing in.

CREDIT: @AOC / Twitter

Caption: “What can I possibly say except thank you? So many people sacrificed so much for this to happen – my mother most of all..

My mamá was born + raised in Puerto Rico. She practically raised her siblings in poverty while her own mother worked nonstop to provide food and shelter. She met my father, a Bronx boy visiting isla family, at a young age. They married + moved to NYC – she didn’t even speak English. My parents started from scratch: new languages, new life, new everything. Then came me, and they moved to start over again so I could have an education. Mami mopped floors, drove school buses, + answered phones. She did whatever she needed to do, for me. When my father died, she was left a single mother of 2, and again she had to start over. After he passed we almost lost our home, so we sold it and started over. & over. & over.”

You’re not done crying yet. AOC really loves her mom.

CREDIT: @ocasio2018 / Instagram

Caption continued: “This week I was sworn in as the youngest woman in American history to serve in the United States Congress. I hope that record is broken again soon. As I raised my hand for the oath, my mother held the holy book & looked into @SpeakerPelosi’s eyes. Afterwards, the Speaker said to her “you must be so proud,” and my mother began to cry.”

She celebrates Three Kings Day!

CREDIT: @AOC / Twitter

She celebrates it in both Spanish and English. Give us a Congresswoman who leaves the decorations up until a week into the New Year, gracias.

She bakes cookies while talking about colonial sugarcane fields in Puerto Rico.

CREDIT: @KateAronoff / Twitter

That’s right. AOC sees sugar and feels the need to speak up on her IG Live to talk about how US companies are profiting off the land of Puerto Rico, rather than the impoverished citizens themselves. Otra vez, this is what colonization looks like.

It’s like, hi, hello, let me tell you about how Puerto Rico is not a socialist country. It’s not even a country at all. It is a part of the US and needs to be treated that way and given the respect is deserves.

Plus, it’s pretty clear that AOC is in Congress to create legislation to protect Puerto Rico.

CREDIT: @AOC / Twitter

She has a five point plan on her campaign website that discusses the ways that she’ll work to change how the United States relates to Puerto Rico.

Some even hope that she’ll work to grant Puerto Rico statehood.

CREDIT: @AOC / Twitter

Good thing we have a new lawmaker in town whose going to change those laws that prescribe second-class citizenship to so many people. ICYMI, the Jones Act hamstrings the Puerto Rican economy in a way that no other American communities face, implementing additional fees and taxes on imports and more.

At the very least, she’s fighting like hell to rectify the damage Wall Street has made to Puerto Rico’s economy.

CREDIT: @AOC / Twitter

Yup, all this debt is circa 2008 irresponsible and unjust behavior mounted by vulture funds. The Marshall Plan will help give Puerto Rico modern infrastructure and renewable energy systems, AKA a return on their taxes.

She refuses to white wash history.

CREDIT: @AOC / Twitter

Yeah, that’s because she learned the brown history from all our own parents that they keep out of the white history books. Bet there are young, white “woke” kids just learning this stuff now because history books just can’t be trusted to tell the whole truth.

She’s on the side of truth and justice, not politics and image.

CREDIT: @AOC / Twitter

I mean, she’s been entirely transparent. Last year she was a bartender, probably talking passionately with people about all the injustices and why people in power aren’t using their power to change it. I’m here for her in every way.

Just this week, she’s reporting the news in Puerto Rico that nobody else will.

CREDIT: @AOC / Twitter

Domestic violence has skyrocketed on the island, along with a growing opioid crisis. There’s no therapy. As this crisis grows, of course, others do as well and women are paying the price.

The world is a scary place right now, but AOC is not muting herself to fit into the political status quo.

CREDIT: @AmericanIndian8 / Twitter

She’s brown, red-lipped and proud and thank God for that. Follow @AOC on Twitter to get all the juicy clapbacks at conservatives that you can use on your crazy tios, and @Ocasio2018 on Instagram for posts about mamis that will make you cry.

More than anything, call your reps and tell them what you want them to focus on. Care about Puerto Rico’s collapsing society? Call. Care about children dying in detention centers. Whatever it is, let’s all be more like AOC and own our power in this world, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll survive it.

Colombia Is On Alert After Six Candidates Running For Mayor Have Been Murdered In The Past Six Weeks

Yesterday saw police in Colombia arrest two people in connection to the death of Orley García, the mayoral candidate for the municipality of Toledo. But the wildest thing is that García isn’t the first mayoral candidate to have been killed this election cycle in Colombia. In fact, he’s actually the sixth.

The most heartbreaking death was that of Karina García.

The 32-year-old was running to be the first female mayor in the rural municipality of Toledo when she was attacked. Following a day of campaigning on September 1, García was returning to her hometown of Suarez when the car she was traveling in was shot at, before being set on fire. Six people died from the attack, including García’s mother, three local activists and a candidate for the municipal council, who were also in the car at the time. According to authorities, a grenade was used in the attack. Somehow, though, García’s bodyguard, who was driving the vehicle, survived.

Before she was killed, Karina reported receiving threats and asked for security.

A reward of almost $44,000 has been offered for information leading to the capture of the dissidents who were responsible for the murder of Karina García, who is survived by her husband and three year old son. It seems like a case of too little, too late, though, as García had already reported to authorities that she was on the receiving end of death threats. It was only in August that four armed men confronted members of her campaign, ordering them to take down banners and posters supporting her candidacy. García took to social media, calling on authorities to protect her and her fellow candidates against harm. “Please, for God’s sake, don’t act so irresponsibly,” she said in a video posted to Facebook on August 24. “This can bring fatal consequences for me.”

Authorities are blaming the killings on FARC rebels.

And just who are FARC? The Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, on the most fundamental level, are a guerilla movement that began in 1964. Motivated by Marxist-Leninist leanings, on paper they’re a peasant force that promotes anti-imperialism. However, what this means in practice is that they kidnap, ransom, drug run and extort their way into opposing Colombian authorities and consolidating power. By the time 2016 rolled around though, the group was running out of steam. This led to a ceasefire accord between FARC and the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos. June 2017 saw FARC hand over its weapons to the United Nations.

Yes, FARC legitimized itself legally but several dissidents disagree with that decision.

Obviously, that’s not the end of the story. Despite the peace deal, and despite the fact that FARC had officially announced its transformation into a legal, political party, there are still plenty of dissidents out there who disagree with the change and still operate under the original FARC doctrine. What’s most likely sparked the recent mayoral candidate killings is FARC’s announcement, on Youtube no less, that it’s resorting to violence due to the Colombian government’s failure to comply with the peace agreements from 2016. Of course, Colombian officials heartily disagreed with this statement, and responded with offensive strikes against FARC.

This has basically turned into tic for tac killing.

And the repercussions of the violence and killings are far-reaching. Beyond the devastated friends and family left behind, this also spells trouble for the democratic process in Colombia. Because who’s going to risk running for office, if they’re risking not only their own life, but the lives of their friends, family and coworkers? And who’s going to even consider turning up to vote, when the candidates themselves are being murdered, left, right, and center? It’s hard to conceive of cultural and legislative change in a country where part of what needs to be changed is what’s preventing change in the first place.

The other thing to keep in mind is that this is the exact kind of violence that people are fleeing when they arrive at the US border and make an appeal for asylum.

It’s a legitimate fear: the operation of gangs and cartels negatively impacts on the safety of the citizenry, as well as influencing the way that the entire country can be governed. However, because US legislation under the Trump administration states that asylum seekers cannot be granted refuge against gang violence, it means that these people have no choice but to go back to their country of origin and continue to risk theirs and their family’s lives. Something’s gotta give – otherwise, we’re going to see a lot more deaths at the hands of these gangs.

At this stage, we can only keep our eyes peeled for more news coming out from Colombia, as the elections are to be held October 27, across almost 1,100 municipalities. Unfortunately, with the murder of the sixth mayoral candidate in Colombia, this marks an even more violent election season than that of 2015, which saw the deaths of five mayoral candidates.

Could This Young Woman Of Color Be The Next AOC? This Progressive Political Group Hopes So

Inspired by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mckayla Wilkes of Maryland has got her sights set on 2020, challenging House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer for his seat. In fact, Wilkes has been influenced so much by AOC’s run for Congress in 2018, she’s now secured backing from Brand New Congress – the same progressive group that supported Ocasion-Cortez’s campaign way back when.

That’s swell and all, but why do we care?

There’s plenty of reasons to care about Wilkes and who she is: she’s a black, working-class, 29 year-old mother-of-two studying political science in Waldorf, Maryland. When you compare her to Steny Hoyer and his background – essentially an old, white man serving his 20th term in office – you can definitely imagine that Wilkes would be more familiar with the everyday struggles that most of us face, than Hoyer. “He’s not for people that are my family, my friends, my coworkers,” Wilkes said in an interview with Buzzfeed. “It shows in the policies that he sponsors and that he endorses, and it shows in the donors that he gets his contributions from.”

Wilkes has been extremely candid and open about her past and her struggles.

It’s easy to see that Wilkes is as genuine as it gets, as she’s also been upfront about her past. “I just don’t want any secrets … I want everything to be out there. It’s not like I’m the only person who goes through these things,” she said, having publicly spoke about her time in jail as a teen and young adult. Wilkes has admitted to going through a rough patch, and also spoke about the abortion she had when she was 19: “It’s not like it’s something easy to do,” she told BuzzFeed recently. “It’s not an easy decision to make. But I feel like women should have that right. … My body is not a political playground. There’s no room for [politicians] in the room with me and my doctor.”

Sure, she’s more representative of the population, but what does Wilkes stand for?

In short, it seems as if Mckayla Wilkes is running on a platform that’s kinda similar to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Things like Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, affordable housing, overhauling the criminal justice system and even initiating impeachment proceedings against Trump are all on her to-do list, should she be elected. And yeah: none of these policies are gonna be easy to institute, especially as the Democrat’s current position doesn’t support impeachment. But, whoever said that running for office – and getting things done – would be easy?

She is committed to raising money for her campaign directly from her constituents.

However, Wilkes is clearly driven by her morals, and isn’t afraid of a challenge. She’s also committed to staying away from PAC money and is seeking funding through other means. It’s meant that, since launching her campaign in June, she’s raised $70,000 from door knocking. To put it in perspective, Hoyer raised just $185 in the first quarter of 2019 from grassroots donations … and over $650,000 from other sources. What this means for Wilkes is that, having fundraised exclusively through donations from the community, her decisions and policies are tied directly to her constituents – and not other interests. More power to her, right?

It sounds like Wilkes is definitely for the people – but what is she up against?

Well, there is the obvious: Wilkes is running against an incumbent, and one who’s got plenty of funding and connections to boot. It’s not easy to run against someone who’s in that position. Especially when the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) made an announcement earlier this year that if an organization supports candidates challenging an incumbent House Democrat, the party would cut them off from business. It means that even simple things like securing advertisers becomes that much harder for someone in Wilkes’ position.

Wilke’s campaign will be a challenging one to win but she’s got her eyes on the prize.

Chances are that Wilkes’ campaign will face more challenges than what Ocasio-Cortez saw, too. The population of Maryland’s 5th District is 60 percent white. However, New York’s 14th District, where AOC ran for her seat, is 18 percent white. Political pundits speculate that because 2020 is a presidential election year, it’s highly likely that younger and more diverse voters will show up to have their say – which in turn should help Wilkes.

Mckayla Wilkes is no fool, and she knows that she needs to lean into the fact that she not only represents a more diverse face in the race for Congress, but also a deeper, more tangible connection to the average Joe. “That’s … what sets me apart from Hoyer and also the majority of people in Congress,” Wilkes said to the media, “because I would not be able to sleep at night knowing that I’m denying my sister health care or that I’m denying my friend a place to live or that I’m denying my classmate a place to live. So, for me, it’s personal.”

Share this story with all of your friends by tapping our little share buttons below!